Reviewed by Ian Lipke
Catch is the story of sixteen-year-old Beth who discovers a hidden talent viz a nausea attack signalling someone is in danger of falling followed by a new ability to catch the person before he/she can self-harm. Having this skill brings challenges and with them responsibility. It is soon revealed that the story is exploring the importance of altruism, trust and delicately balanced selflessness with self-care. The story includes themes of acceptance, courage and hope.
Over the summer Beth has grown considerably so much so that her neighbour Etienne has begun to notice her. Waves of nausea attack her. Unsettled by her newly acquired strength, height and senses, Beth is unable to resist the impulse to rescue, even if it means failing assignments and interrupting basketball competitions. In the long run Beth must decide how she can help others without sacrificing her own needs and meeting her responsibilities.
This story invites its readers to think not only about the main characters but also about the minor personages who are given in sufficient detail to allow us to make meaningful comments about them. Beth’s friend, Lin, could almost be considered a major character, while Etienne occupies a similar status. But characters, who must be considered minor, are yet developed more than one might expect. Beth’s relationship with Rohan is used to create tension with Etienne, for example. When Beth rescues Rock from the train platform, she remarks, “I could feel the defeat in him, and something else too. Something like hope” (171); is Catch a story about hope rather than defeat?
Certain odd sayings enrich our understanding of the character, Beth. When being driven home in the police car, Beth says, “I listened without really hearing” (103). Or, a more complex utterance, “With my eyes open, the sounds in my head slipped into the background of my mind” (105). Such comments almost force us to become engaged in the use of figurative language in this story. Many examples proliferate the text as in, for example,
Mum’s hair, which was short and curly and often out of place, looked as chaotic as the house (3)
Or
He smiled at me then in a way that made my stomach flip, and my feet sink a little into the floor (70).
When I read the Dedication to this story, I was struck by the cleverness of “For those of us afraid of falling”. Then I noticed the multiplicity of references to ‘falling’ and ‘catching’ from young people falling in love to a ball, pitched by Beth and falling through a basketball hoop. Characters are described as falling in different ways and being caught by others.
Yet I can’t help feeling that Catch is such a lazy title. The story asks us to think at depth; the title offers little support.
Overall, a great book.
Catch
(2025)
by Sarah Brill
Allen & Unwin
ISBN:978-1761182037
$24.99;304pp